Why Am I Exceptional?
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: His whole life, Itachi's been told he was exceptional. By his father, by his Hokage, by his teachers, by his captain and subordinates, by his few friends, by his cousin and younger brother, by his partner, by everyone who knew him. Yet he was never told why.


**Why Am I Exceptional**

 **Summary: His whole life, Itachi's been told he was exceptional. By his father, by his Hokage, by his teachers, by his captain and subordinates, by his few friends, by his cousin and younger brother, by his partner, by everyone who knew him. Yet he was never told why.**

 _Fugaku..._

"Ne, Chichiue?" Uchiha Fugaku looked up from the scroll he was reading to regard his only four year old son as black eyes, so much like his own but filled with much more potential and talent, looked up at him.

"Yes, son?" He inquired with an almost invisible smile. Fugaku was not the type of man to show emotion freely. It was an Uchiha trait, much like their black eyes, pale skin, dark hair and aristocratic noses. He was a broad shouldered man with shoulder length dark brown hair and stern features that many found intimidating. He wore a green kimono top and some loose gray pants unless he was out on duty, when he wore a jonin vest over the top. He was the Captain of Konoha's Police force and the head of the Uchiha Clan. He was stern, stubborn and a skilled shinobi rare few in the village could fight and defeat.

"Why am I exceptional?" His ash black haired, pale skinned son asked with a tilt of his head. Uchiha Itachi was the heir of the Uchiha man family. He had black eyes, like all of his relatives, and round features befitting a four year old boy. Yet some of his features already showed a maturity to them that no child should posses. His hair was shorter than Fugaku's but he showed promise to be taller than his father when he grew up. The boy in question was smart - a _freaking genius_ \- hardworking, curious, wise beyond his years, mature, skilled, talented and very perceptive. He had a kind and gentle nature that seemed to take away the prideful arrogance most of their clan carried like a second skin. His eyes seemed to sear into someone's very soul when he looked at them intensely, often intimidating people ten times older than him.

The brunet blinked at the raven haired child, not expecting such a question. He never thought Itachi would ask that. He always assumed the boy would just accept it and move on without thinking too much about it. Guess he thought wrong. "What brought that on?"

"I passed today by cousin Inabi practicing with some of his friends and they insisted Inabi lend me kunai to throw with them." Itachi said as he took a seat opposite his father at the low table they usually ate at. "I think they were trying to be mean towards cousin Inabi and make fun of us, because they appeared surprised when I joined them and beat their scores."

"Oh?" _Well, this was interesting_ , Fugaku thought. He will still need to have a talk with his nephew for allowing a toddler to go anywhere _near_ kunai, let alone throw them.

Itachi nodded, unaware of his father's straying thoughts. "Yes. They then gave me shuriken and tested me with throwing them, too. I think they got angry when I could bend them further than they could and still hit the bulls eye."

"You threw _shuriken_ , too!?" The panicking father asked, already planning Inabi's death and how to make it seem like it was an accident that he was burnt to a crisp. Then it registered what his son said and he focused back on him. "You bent shuriken?" Itachi nodded again. "How much?"

"About 30° from their original path."

Fugamu gaped at his son while the four year old shrugged as if it were nothing. "A-and you n-never even _touched_ shuriken or kunai before?" The elder asked in a slightly shaky voice and the raven haired child just nodded again, although a bit hesitantly this time. It was clear he didn't understand his father's reaction to his story and, to be honest, he was getting scared of the answer to his question. What if he was a freak and that's why everyone called him 'exceptional'? Was it to cover up that he was weird? His anxiety increased when his father asked him if that was when he was called exceptional and he nodded once more.

"Cousin Inabi just ruffled my hair and said I was just exceptional like that when his friends asked how I could do it so young."

Fugaku suddenly beamed, unknowingly putting his son's secret worries to rest with the rare gesture. "That's my boy! Mikoto! Where are you?" He stood up, leaving his scroll opened on the table as he went to search for his wife.

"In the laundry room, anata!" Came his mother's sweet and kind voice from said room, making the man all but skip in her direction.

"You won't believe the news I've just heard!" And with his fading footsteps, Fugaku forgot all about the question his son had asked that had brought him such joy and pride. Itachi stared after his father's retreating figure with a confused and unpleased pout, but it disappeared when his eyes landed on the open scroll. Without bothering to wonder if he was allowed to read it or not, Itachi sat down in his Chichiue's place and started readying the history scroll of Konoha Fugaku had been studying, forgetting about his question for the time being.

 _Minato ..._

"Oh, hello Itachi-chan!" A kind, cheerful voice said from behind the six year old Uchiha and Itachi turned around to see his Hokage, the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato making his way cheerily towards the boy carrying his infant brother out for a little walk in the setting sun.

Itachi immediately bowed to the village leader, feeling his cheeks redden when the man ruffled his hair and his baby brother, Sasuke, giggled while he played with his hair that was finally in his little hands' reach. "Minato-sama! Good evening."

The tall, blond man chuckled kindly at the greeting, knowing rather well how much Itachi respected and admired him. If he didn't know any better, he would say the older Uchiha brother even had a bit of a crush on him, but he knew it was more of a hero-worship kind of thing. He had tanned skin and the bluest eyes anyone had ever seen while his hair was as golden as the sun. He was a very handsome and well developed man, which can be seen through his clothes that fit snuggly against his frame. He was taller than Fugaku by about an inch or so, something that greatly irked the slightly older male and left Minaro chuckling every time it was mentioned. He was kind, friendly, calm, a genius and the fastest man alive, nicknamed Konoha's Yellow Flash because of his incredible speed not even the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan could follow.

"Good evening. How are you, Itachi-chan?"

The blushing Uchiha smiled up at the Hokage as he answered. "I am well, Minato-sama. How are you and Kushina-sama?"

"I thought I told you to quit calling us that," the blond admonished jokingly and Itachi had to duck his head so the man would see just how red he was. But Minato knew and he ruffled the child's hair to ease his discomfort. "And we are well. It's very kind of you to ask." Sasuke noticed the lack of attention from his older brother and started fussing, drawing both older males' attention. Blue eyes lit up upon seeing the cute baby. "Oh, is this your otouto? Sasuke-chan, right?"

Itachi nodded proudly and presented Sasuke as if he were the world's grandest treasure. "Yes, this is Sasuke. He's two months old."

"He sure is cute," the Yondaime complimented with a warm smile as he held out a finger for the baby. Sasuke pouted at him in the closest to an Uchiha glare he could get at this age and Minato chuckled at the crabby baby. "Ah, he reminds me of Fugaku. He may look like Mikoto, but he is like a mini Fugaku in personality."

The joke suddenly left Itachi silent and tense and Minato wanted to curse himself for saying something that had obviously upset the older child. He went to say something else that would draw his attention away from what he had said earlier, but Itachi's question left him stumped and speechless.

"People kept telling me I'm special, that I'm like neither my Okaa-san nor my Chichiue. They tell me I am exceptional." Black eyes locked on blue, both carrying a wisdom that shouldn't be there at their age. "But no one ever tells me why."

"Why?" The blond echoed, slightly confused with the turn of their conversation.

"Why am I exceptional?" The Uchiha clarified even as he offered his brother his own finger when the baby still didn't take Minato's. Sasuke happily clamped on his brother's finger and cooed contentedly, unaware of the heavy air surrounding them.

Minato looked down at his once best friend's older son and wondered from where all the wisdom he saw in Itachi's eyes came from. The child had started withdrawing from his peers about a year ago, after that one funeral that he had attended after his very first kill. Had the other still considered him a friend, Minato would have given Fugaku a piece of his mind for taking a five year old out into a war zone, no matter how many hours had passed since the end of battle. But Itachi had showed an increased interest in ninja arts and history since then, too, quickly reading through Konoha's library. Minato wasn't sure what had changed, but Itachi seemed displeased with something. The war most likely, but there's been peace since that last battle.

What worried Minato was the question and its origins. Someone Itachi's age would just accept the compliment/observation as just that, not caring why an adult would think that and rather be more interested in bragging about it to his/her friends. But here Itachi was, humble and serious as he asked that one question, not seeing that he was exceptional in just _asking_ it. There was no searching for false praise, instead something akin to confusion and _worry_ lurked deep in those inky depths. Why would a child even be told they were exceptional at this age? As far as Minato knew, Itachi still wasn't enrolled in the Academy and Fugaku was still too busy to teach him anything for the boy to find out if he was as much of a genius in ninja arts as he seemed to be in other things. After all, a kid who learns to talk and walk on his own _is_ nothing short of a genius. Minato was still close with Fugaku when Itachi suddenly blurted out his first word when he was nine months old. And he had said it fluently. _Nakamada_. Something that was often said as Minato had been an almost every day resident of their household and he and the boy's father called each other that more than by each other's names.

Minato had sworn he had never seen his old friend that stunned before. That was also the first time that word - _exceptional_ \- was dropped like a bomb into the boy's life.

And now he was asking why.

"It's not so easy to explain, Itachi-chan." The blond tried to explain, searching for the right words. "Everyone is exceptional in their own way. There are no two identical people in the world. Not even identical twins." It wasn't an answer and Minato knew it wouldn't satisfy the Uchiha.

As if on cue, the raven haired one pouted. "I am aware of that, but I don't think that's what they mean when they say it about me."

"They?" The Hokage asked with furrowed brows. "They who?"

"Chichiue, Okaa-san, the rest of my clansmen, some of their friends or associates," the younger one began counting off, not noticing how the blond was now glaring in the direction of the Uchiha Compound.

"Has your Chichiue come back home when you left for your walk?" Minato interrupted and Itachi blinked up at the now standing man.

"Yes, he just got back and sat down for some dinner."

Minato nodded absently and patted Itachi's head as he walked past him, his white and red robes flowing behind him until he activated his Flying Thunder God jutsu and disappeared from sight in a flash of yellow, leaving a scowling Itachi behind with his still unanswered question as the blond went to scold his once friend and teammate.

The older Uchiha sighed and continued walking, quickly brightening up when Sasuke demanded his attention again.

 _His peers and teachers ..._

Itachi looked up as his name was called up to answer one more question no one else knew. It was the norm; let others try before asking Itachi for the answer if no one knew the correct answer. More often than not, the six and a half year old Uchiha had to answer the questions.

At first, he had actually been raising his hand like the rest of the kids do when they think they know an answer, but after it became obvious that he could answer every question, the teacher kindly asked him to stop answering so other kids could participate in the class. They had laughed while he had flushed n embarrassment at being singled out like that, even though it was for a good thing, but he had nodded in agreement.

The kids had a whole different opinion on his lack of answering questions when it became obvious they had no clue as to anything they were doing. They would proudly raise their hands, thinking they knew the answer and were just as good as Itachi, but two thirds of the time they were making guesses and logical answers they gave had nothing to support their deductions. After a week of no correct answers, when the teacher's superiors came to check on his class' progress, the teacher had nervously asked a question and was glad that there were so many hands up, but not the pale one that would have saved his neck. So he let a few kids answer and had seemed to shrink in on himself with every wrong answer, which earned him Itachi's pity and the raven haired boy had raised his hand. The teacher had looked about ready to cry from relief and he quickly called him up.

Everyone seemed to relax when the Uhciha answered the question correctly with a perfect explanation.

Like now, too.

"Excellent, Itachi. Very good." The teacher said and was about to continue the lesson when the doors opened and a jonin walked in. "Um, can I help you?" The kids were staring in fascination at the ninja, most of them never having seen a jonin this up close before.

"Um, yes, actually. I heard from a friend of mine that there was an interesting boy in one of these classes. He said he was quite _exceptional_ , I think was the word." The man said, looking around the room. To his surprise, there was no confusion and everyone was looking at a silent ash black haired boy in a dark gray, long sleeved shirt with a high, wide collar. His ink black eyes were focused outside of his window, staring at something with a thoughtful expression on his young face. "He said you could ask him anything and he can answer it."

That got an interested eyebrow arched from the teacher wile his students started whispering amongst each other. Itachi didn't look away from the parents teaching their little chicks to fly on the tree in front of the window, watching the little crows flapping their little wings to imitate their parents. "Well, I don't know about that but Itachi _is_ very smart." And not even at the sound of his name being called did Itachi grace them with his attention. That got the jonin annoyed pretty quickly.

"Oi, bozu! Pay attention when people are talking to you."

"You're not talking _to_ me but _about_ me." The Uchiha heir said, still not looking at the man. One of the young crows, the older seeming one, had took off and was flying around the smaller one on unsteady wings. The younger was gawking excitedly at the its older sibling and Itachi felt his mouth pulling up at the similarities between these birds and himself with Sasuke.

"Don't give me such attitude, brat!" A hand slammed on his desk, but Itachi didn't flinch. He had seen its descent from the corner of his eye so he wasn't surprised, nor was he one to show his reactions openly either way.

One of the boys he had saved from that big bully jumped up from his seat. "Hey! Don't treat Itachi like that!" Saisu said, fuming at the way his friend was treated. And to think he and his little group had hated Itachi in his brilliance...

"Saisu, please be quiet," the teacher asked in a stern tone but Saisu remained standing and his two friends stood up as well, all three glaring at the jonin. Itachi's fangirls were glaring, too, not at all liking how their idol was being treated. The jonin glared back at them all, but he was surprised when the boy in front of him spoke.

"I'll answer any one of your questions if you can answer mine." The Uchiha finally looked away when the younger bird also started flying, the two siblings circling each other and then their parents. "I'll even let you ask three first."

"Such arrogance, brat. Fine, I accept." The jonin said with his hands on his hips. "I'll start off easy. How many are there elemental releases?"

"Technically, only five: fire, wind, lightning, earth and water. But there are many releases that come from combining these five, such as Wood Release or Blaze Release or Ice Release and so on. There are also Yin and Yang Releases." Itachi looked back out of the window when the family of crows flew away. He ignored the grunt that showed the man was reluctantly impressed.

"Fine. How about this? What kinds of summons exist?"

"There are many different types of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Most common is weapons summons but the most famous is animal summons due to the Legendary Sannin and their toad, snail and snake summons that won them many battles, and also because Yondaime Hokage-sama used a giant toad, Gamabunta, to defeat the Kyuubi. There are summons from seals and then there is the Edo Tensei summon."

"How the _fuck_ do you know about _that_!?"

"Watch your language in front of these children!" The chuunin teacher scolded.

''I read.'' The Uchiha replied. ''Now, as for my question-''

''That wasn't my third question!'' The jonin protested angrily, not seeing the small smirk pulling on Itachi's lips until it was too late. The kid was mocking him! ''Why you little!''

''I said I would give you three trial questions and then ask my own. If you can answer it, then I will gladly answer any other question you may have.''

''Then let me have my final trial question.'' The man crossed his arms and Itachi shrugged. He didn't care. He wasn't worried. ''Since you can read, let's see how much you have red. Who are Konoha's oldest allies?''

''Uzushiogakure,'' came the instant reply and the jonin groaned.

''Fine, ask your question.''

Itachi looked back at the man with an intense look in his eyes that froze the jonin in place. ''You called me exceptional when you came in. Why? Why am I exceptional?''

The man huffed. ''Hell if I know. I said a friend of mine said that. What are you, self obsessed or something?'' And the man went on in a rant that left Itachi and many of his classmates with a horrible headache until their teacher kicked him out of annoyance. He apologized to Itachi before returning to his lesson, only for the bell to ring a moment later.

Itachi's question remained unanswered once again.

 _Shisui ..._

Itachi was studying the back of his friend's and cousin's head as the older Uchiha lead him through the forest in another one of their training exercises. After the first time when they fought those Root guys and protected an ANBU, Itachi had insisted that they pick up the pace in his training. Shisui had nothing against that except that Itachi kept pushing himself too hard, but the younger of the two insisted he could cope just fine.

Shisui didn't doubt that he could, since Itachi was _exceptional_ , he just didn't want a repeat of the younger boy getting injured again.

That had seemed to displease the younger Uchiha and had left the older confused when Itachi had stayed quiet during their whole mid morning training. Then again, it was more in the Uhciha nature to be quiet but still ... but usually, Itachi made observations that would leave most adults stumped or asked questions Shisui needed to think real hard for a moment to answer.

Itachi looked up when his cousin suddenly stopped and turned around to face him. It would seem Shisui was sick of his silence and was going to get to the bottom of the problem. The younger Uchiha scowled, knowing that he just shouldn't even bother to ask this question ever again. He was eight and a half and so far, no one had managed to answer what should have been an easy question. Really, all someone had to say was one little reason. It's not as if he was asking what made only the Uchiha capable of having the Sharingan (he actually already knew the answer to that) or what snapped in a person to make them go mad or become evil. It wasn't a brain surgery! Hell, he'd accept the answer of just 'You're born like that,' and leave it at that. After all, some things were better left unanswered or whatever.

Shisui looked him dead in the eye and Itachi wanted to sigh but didn't. He wasn't rude even when he had an extremely bad day. "Is there a reason we stopped, Shisui?" He asked politely and the older one arched an eyebrow.

"You've been unusually quiet. Not the Uchiha broody kind of quiet, but I'm-pouting-and-I-don't-care kind of quiet. What's bothering you, Itachi?" When the younger looked away with a scowl, Shisui frowned in worry and stepped forward, placing a soothing hand on Itachi's shoulder. "You know you can tell me anything, right? You know I'll never betray you. You're like a little brother to me and I care about you. No matter what, I'll always have your back."

"But you think I don't need it because I'm _exceptional_." The word was all but spat out, surprising the short haired Uchiha into silence.

"Itachi-"

"Just tell me one thing, Shisui." The tone went from disgusted and upset to almost begging. "Chichiue calls me exceptional. Okaa-san calls me exceptional. Our entire clan, my peers and _the entire village_ , even Minato-sama had, too; they _all_ call me _exceptional_. But anyone I ever asked _why_ could not answer me. _Why_ am I exceptional? I'm as human as everyone else. I make mistakes, I get tired or in a bad mood. I have to practice and train and learn as everyone else. So just _what_ makes me so _exceptional_? Why am I exceptional, Shisui?"

The older raven haired boy sighed and tried to think up an answer. _Why_ indeed was Itachi exceptional? He never bothered to ask himself that. It was just the air he carried around himself. Itachi was an enigma. A boy who at seven had more wisdom in his little finger than all five Kage did put together. A shinobi with unmatched skill and talent. Shisui would have _loved_ possibly seeing the Yondaime one day sparring with his younger cousin had the blond survived the Kyuubi attack. A person with an infinitely caring and loyal heart, of great politeness and manners befitting only a daimyo. A grace and beauty only nature has to that extent. Really, there were many things that could have made anyone think of Itachi as _exceptional_ ... yet there was always more. A sort of _more_ that can't be defined by words. It was simply impossible.

Still, he would have to give his friend and cousin _some_ answer.

"It's because you're simply one of a kind, Itachi. There's just nobody else like you."

Itachi scowled at this and turned away. "There's no two identical people in the world. Not even identical twins." The genius recited the words he had heard years ago said by a now deceased blond. "That's what Minato-sama said. That, however, doesn't make _me_ exceptional, but everyone else, too. Everyone is one of a kind and exceptional in their own way. You can tell me that." The younger boy looked over his shoulder to his cousin before taking off. "But you still can't tell me _why_ _am I exceptional_?"

Shisui sighed and went after his cousin. It would seem not even he knows how to answer this question.

 _Kakashi..._

Hatake Kakashi stared at the twelve year old who has been in his command for the past sixteen months as Itachi, without a problem or complaint, stayed perfectly still while they spied on a target for the past two days. Most of the rest of his squad had already been forced to move cautiously to drink some water or eat a food pill, but Itachi had remained as still as a rock, never making a sound, never moving a muscle, never breaking a swat and never losing focus for even a second. It earned him hidden sneers and reluctant admiration from the rest of Team Ro, as he was younger than them all by at least five years.

Kakashi had to hand it to him. Uchiha Itachi was one of the greatest ninja he had ever met, and he was the student of Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and he had met all three of the Legendary Sannin. But for all they were great and legends, Itachi still seemed to be in a cathegory of his own. Kakashi would give him five to seven years of continued training and missions and he had no doubt that the boy would surpass them all. He was smart, too, and knew how to value his comrades. If he were anymore perfect, Kakashi would worry that he wasn't a real human. As it was, Itachi already stood great chances of becoming the next Hokage. He would undoubtedly be good for the position and for the village.

The raven haired tween suddenly moved and Kakashi realized it was to push Tenzou out of the way of an incoming arrow. It would seem that with all the shifting everyone's been doing in their restlessness and soreness of muscles from two days of almost no moving had finally drawn attention from their target's bodyguards, a group of five ninja from Kirigakure and two from Sunagakure. It was a Suna shinobi who had fired from his crossbow and had nearly hit Tenzou while the other couldn't help but yawn. Had it not been for Itachi, the brunet would be dead.

The rest of Team Ro jumped out of their hiding places and started fighting their opponents, their movements either jerky or sluggish. This was the first real movement in 48 hours and their blood and chakra flow was slowed down considerably. But they weren't ANBU for no good reason. They could force their bodies to move properly, even if they constantly had that 'pins and needles' feeling in their legs.

What should have come as a surprise, but didn't, was that Itachi seemed to be moving as fluidly as ever, more graceful than the air currents or a flowing river as he weaved between enemies and knocked them out. And yes, they _were_ only knocked out as Itachi didn't kill unless absolutely necessary. The three that had went for him regretted it now without a doubt. A few ordinary guards came at him with swords, but Itachi just dissolved into a dozen crows and let them stab each other. He reappeared behind their target and took the missive from his shaking hands. The man jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around, only to fall to the ground, as limp as a doll. He had made the mistake of looking into Itachi's eyes through his weasel mask and the Sharingan user had knocked him out. He opened the unsealed scroll, read through its contents before rolling it up again and handing it over to Kakashi, who had just finished off his opponent. Kakashi took it, read it and reread it before nodding and placing it in his pouch.

He signaled for them to erase all evidence it was Konoha's shinobi that had been here and they left as soon as everything was done. Kakashi could hear his team muttering about 'Uchiha grace' and something about 'Uchiha pride' and even 'not letting himself look like a human,' all directed to the youngest member of his platoon. He saw from the corner of his eye that Tenzou was looking at Itachi, either in worry or in wonder as the Uchiha moved as if he had _not_ just spent _two_ days completely _immobile_ other than breathing and blinking, without even drinking or eating food pills, and from the other side, when he looked, he saw that the raven seemed to be easily ignoring them all. He was probably thinking about their day off tomorrow, which he could spend with his precious little brother. The Uchiha brothers were actually pretty cute in their interactions.

"Captain, Yugao is injured. We may need to rest." Aburame Yoji reported and Kakashi nodded.

"Alright, we'll rest here for a while." He said, stopping on a thick, tall tree about five miles away from Konoha. "Eat and drink because we'll be setting a harsh pace after this without rest."

"Hai," his team said and everyone immediately slumped on the thick branches. Only Itachi and Kakashi remained standing, the Uchiha finally taking out his bag of food pills and popping one into his mouth before taking a long drink of water. He still did it with such dignity that one would really think he had been feasting in comparison to how the rest of his team was acting, gulping down the water and popping two or more pills at once. They had put something in their mouths in the past two days. Itachi had went without.

Kakashi waited until he was done before jumping over to the tween. The younger male didn't even twitch when the silent silver haired man placed a hand on his shoulder. "You sure are something, huh."

"Excuse me?" The ever polite Itachi inquired as he looked up to his commanding officer. He was growing fast. He was pretty tall for a twelve year old.

"The way you handled a mission." Kakashi said with a nod. "You didn't move, eat, drink water, sleep or lose focus for the entire two days of the reckon mission. And yet you somehow managed to remain in perfect battle form despite all of this. Not even far older and more experienced ninja could finish this mission as you did, staying so alert on no resources for your body at all. It's quite exceptional, you know."

The air suddenly shifted in such a way that Kakashi could only blink as Itachi seemed to tense and the aura around him became distant and cold. Which was strange, as the Uchiha was rather friendly and nice. Even when you severely pissed him off, he would only go blank, not show his distaste for you this openly. Maybe he stumbled on a land mine? But, as far as he knew, Itachi had only one land mine and that was the before mentioned younger brother. If you wanted a swift death, all you had to do was mock cute, little Sasuke and you just signed your own death warrant and might as well go pick a casket and your burial suit. Itachi wasn't easy to piss off. When you _did_ manage it, you should just forget about pride and run for your life.

"Exceptional ... I hate that word." The younger genius stated in a clipped tone of voice. He looked up at Kakashi in such a way that Kakashi could only conclude Itachi was challenging him. "Tell me, Kakashi-san... Why, exactly, am I _exceptional_?"

Kakashi stared at the Uchiha and Itachi stared right back. Kakashi was a genius, like him and Minato-sama. He might not exactly be a once in a generation genius, but he was still pretty damn smart. Itachi was sort of hoping for the impossible that at least _he_ could answer this, what would in a quiz show be, 100 000 ryo question. Seriously, if Itachi had a coin for every time he asked this question, he could buy the whole of the Fire Country three times over. And it would be pretty funny for him to go around and demand a coin from everyone who couldn't answer his question. He'd probably be richer than all five great nations put together after only going through the Fire Country's people.

The silver haired man tried to think of a reason why Itachi _wouldn't_ be exceptional and couldn't find it. The boy was just special. His actions during this mission only further proved this. He had no answer for his subordinate that might please him so he just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You just are. You have this ... aura around you that makes people think like that. People can just _feel_ that you're exceptional."

Itachi sighed when he realized he won't be getting an answer this time around, either and just settled to nod at the man. He watched as the other genius went over to talk with Tenzou and lifted his arm up when he heard the flapping if wings. The crow landed elegantly at stared at the raven haired boy as he looked in the direction of Konoha, now _certain_ he will never have his question answered.

 _Kisame..._

Kisame was not the brightest crayon in the box but he wasn't dumb, either. He could tell that Itachi-san was dying to ask him or tell him something and he was curious as to _what_ could ruffle the genius fourteen year old's feathers this much. Yet the Uchiha seemed frustrated with just _wanting_ to discuss this topic in the first place. Kisame couldn't help but wonder just what it was.

And Itachi _did_ want to ask Kisame the same question he has been asking over the years. Kisame was his first friend since Shisui committed suicide and gave him his remaining eye. Well, besides his trusty crow. The blue skinned man seemed to genuinely care for him, something Itachi had seen only in his parents, Shisui, Sasuke and Kakashi in the past few years. And now Shisui was dead, he had killed his parents alon with the rest of their clan, he had made Sasuke hate him and he was a rouge, to be hunted by his fellow Leaf ninja... well, not anymore. He was now part of the Akatsuki and Kisame was his partner. They had been together as a team for a year and a half now. Kisame didn't judge him for what he did and that was the reason Itachi told him the whole story of what happened, how Danzo had cornered him and what he had chosen. Kisame swore he will kill the old man one day, as he was obviously as fond of Itachi as the younger man was of him.

So Itachi _wanted_ his opinion, even if he never really got an answer. But he was frustrated that he was still searching for an answer he himself had called inexistent. He got his hopes up without even knowing it as soon as the question was out of his mouth and then he got disappointed when he gets no answer.

Kisame, though, was not one to wait. He pursed his lips and did his best not to ask, but he was curious, he wasn't a patient person and he wanted the old, confidant and impassive Itachi back. That Itachi he didn't need to worry too much about. This emotional Itachi was a whole new teritory to explore and if they were suddenly to get into a battle, Kisame has no idea if the Uchiha will be able to fight like he usually does. Kisame was used to seeing his partner never getting hurt and he got used to it. It's why he let himself even _become_ close to Itachi. Because he knew the Uchiha could look after himself and wouldn't die so easily. Kisame had that problem. Quite a few of his friends died and he couldn't do anything about it, so he didn't want Itachi ending up on that list. Especially since he considered Itachi his important person. He was the only constant in his current life other than his sword, the Samehada, that was by now practically an extension of his body. So seeing Itachi hurt or dead was out of the question and, as mentioned earlier, Kisame has never seen Itachi like this so he doesn't know if he'll be in top form and remain uninjured in a sudden battle.

So Kisame decided to forget tact and just get to the heart of the matter. "Itachi-san, something seems to be bothering you." Those black eyes settled on his face and the blue man did his best not to get lost in them. They were like depthless seas of ink. It would be dangerous to get lost in them. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Itachi would have chuckled at how awkward Kisame was asking that question. Kisame was the rough and tough type of guys with muscles on top of muscles. He wasn't exactly used to talking about problems and feelings. Not because of stereotype or anything like that. Actually, in a way it was because of it, but only because people assumed he wouldn't want to talk about these things and instead only talked about training, working out, biceps, weapons and the like. He was utterly embarrassed when someone tried talking with him about women, so he stuck to talking with Itachi, who would discuss all sorts of topics with him. It must be refreshing to talk about something normal instead of what stereotype dictated you should talk about. So Itachi always found it amusing - in a cute sort of way - the way his partner would get fidgety when _he_ was the one trying to approach those normal topics.

"Actually, it's pretty silly. I just want your opinion on a question I've been asking since I was four."

Kisame blinked at the genius. "A whole decade? What could possibly make _you_ stumped so long?" Itachi was a never before seen genius type of genius. _What_ could _possibly_ be bothering him for ten years?

"Do you think I'm exceptional?"

The ex-Swordsman of the Mist blinked at the strange question, especially as it was rather self centered. Itachi was no narcissist. And the question itself was very strange. Of course Itachi was exceptional. Why would he even ask that? But Kisame nodded as his answer none the less. The Uchiha seemed to be expecting as much and nodded along.

"Why?"

"Why what?" The shark man was really confused now. He didn't know shat to answer or what to think about this whole situation. Itachi-san was just acting real weird right now.

"Why am I exceptional?"

"Ah," Kisame said and then began thinking. To him, Itachi-san was exceptional just with being Itachi-san. He didn't have a better explanation to it. He had seen the man in almost every mood up till now and had seen him being in big brother mode, assassin mode, caring mode, pissed off at Deidara and so on. He now even saw him in emotional mode, or rather, anxious, and it was over something that sounded so silly, yet Kisame could see it was a serious matter to Itachi. If what Itachi said was true, then the raven haired boy had been asking this question almost as long as he had lived. And now he really wanted Kisame's opinion.

He was broken from his thoughts when Itachi-san snorted. ''It's okay, Kisame. I have already gotten used to the idea of that particular question never being answered. You don't have to think up an answer or something to say to sooth me. Thank you for even trying.'' A sigh escaped the Uchiha as he ran a hand through his hair. ''I gave up on finding that answer. I don't even think it exists. I just ... I guess I just can't let it go, no matter how much I try.''

''Itachi-san,'' Kisame interrupted and the younger one looked up at him. Kisame had the most serious look on his face that Itachi had ever seen and that kept his attention more than the tone of voice he used. Seeing that he had his partner's attention, the shark man continued. ''I don't know if this will be a sufficient answer, but for me, Itachi-san is exceptional just for being who you are. You're smart and kind and skilled and a freaking genius. You're the most caring person I have ever met. You're a pacifist and a patriot who gave up almost everything for a damn village that now hunts him like a criminal. And I know you even plan to let your brother kill you one day so he could be hailed as a hero. You're selfless and you sacrificed so much more than those stupid people deserve. You're one of a ind in every sense of the word, Itachi-san. There will never be one like you again. Not even close. You're patient and you can be downright frightening, which is really cool. And you can keep calm even in the worst of situations. I don't know how to explain it, Itachi-san, but the air around you feels different. I sometimes even wonder if you're really real. I look over to you while I keep watch in the night and wonder if you'll disappear with the dawn or if the fire goes out. You're exceptional because you're you.'' Kisame rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. ''Or that's what I think.''

He looked back to his partner when petite hands rested on his cheek and he blushed scarlet when Itachi placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. The Uchiha smiled a breathtaking smile up at him and Kisame swore he was going to faint. ''Thank you, Kisame. That's the closest to an answer I ever got.'' He then turned around and continued their journeyer towards their next destination for their next mission.

Kisame followed after him like a lovesick puppy, his head in a daze.

 _Shinigami..._

When Itachi opened his eyes again, he was greeted with a blinding white. He blinked a few times, forcing his eyes to adjust before he get a migraine or goes blinder than he already was when a shadow fell over him, blocking a little bit of the light. And what he saw would have made any man freeze in horror, scream in fear or faint in panic, but Itachi remained unaffected.

The Shinigami blinked down at the mortal it had come to retrieve. '' **Well ... This is ... exceptional.** '' The god of death moused in a scary sounding voice that had made bigger and stronger looking men's knees buckle while they curled up and wailed or whimpered while in the fatal position. To his surprise, the twenty one year old scowled at him, not at all scared of the purple face, the shaggy white hair, the ripped robes or the two red horns protruding from his head. ''What bothers you, human?''

''Is it possible that even in death I will be mocked by that word?'' The recently died Uchiha asked with scorn in his voice, his black eyes bleeding to red and making the Shinigami flinch away from him. Yes, even death was uncomfortable near the Sharingan users.

'' **Mocked?** ''

''Yes,'' Itachi replied simply, looking around his surroundings. It was pretty bland with nothing to fill the 'scenery'. If this was heaven, then Itachi was sorely disappointed. If it was hell, then people seriously are right when they say boredom is hell. ''My whole life, people have been using that word. I am sick of hearing it. I would please ask you to refrain from saying it in a sentence regarding me.''

A hollow sounding laugh shook the space they were in and Itachi glared harder at the amused Shinigami. He found nothing funny in this situation and his Susanoo showed as much. The Shinigami stopped laughing as soon as it caught sight of the mentioned chakra apparition. He couldn't help but think what an interesting human it got this time.

'' **Ah, but Uchiha Itachi, you _are_ exceptional. Just look at what you have done. And not just in your lifetime, but here, in the realm of death, as well.**''

''I have failed my teammates, I have killed my clansmen, betrayed my village and made my little brother, my most important person, hate me and become a criminal like me in order to get a chance to fight and kill me.'' The mortal stated in a matter of fact voice. ''I have killed and hunted and stole and spied, all because I am a shinobi. I lied and mislead. I don't know if there is a sin I have not committed.''

'' **At least you confront those sins as they are: mistakes that you are ashamed of. Most people I meet here are ignorant or oblivious of what they have done bad in their life and focused on the few good deeds they did every other year or so.** '' The immortal being stated, floating around Itachi's Susanoo, not daring come closer in fear of the red being sealing him away with one swing of his sword. '' **But you did far more good in your life than evil. Everything you did had good intentions behind them.** ''

''The road to hell is paved with good intentions.'' The genius replied, not even bothering to keep an eye on Death. He could feel his coldness anyway, so he instead focused on trying to figure out if he could watch over Sasuke like this and how much time has passed since his passing.

'' **Yet you are not in hell, human.** '' The Shinigami informed and Itachi turned a little to look at the creature.

''Then where am I?''

'' **This is a dimension between the living world and the afterlife. I have been asked to escort you elsewhere.** '' The purple skinned being seemed less than impressed with this task. '' **It has been but a few days since your death. Your brother is now seeking vengeance against Danzo, Uchiha Obito - who calls himself Madara - took your body and has plans on making Sasuke join the Akatsuki. Your partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, has left the organization, not wanting to get another partner or be involved any longer.** ''

''Where are you to escort me?'' The Uchiha asked, still not dispelling his Susanoo. He may not be in hell just yet, but that didn't mean the Shinigami might not try to feast on his soul. Itachi knew well enough that such offerings were given to the death god as a price for the strongest seal that is now keeping the Kyuubi in Naruto-kun. He was glad to have an update on what has happened to his two remaining important people, but he wasn't exactly happy with the road Sasuke had chosen, or what his older cousin was trying. But he had a contingency for this and he dearly hoped Naruto-kun and Sasuke would fight again soon.

'' **Someone wishes to see you. They have a mission of sorts.** '' The SHinigami said mysteriously and tried to wrap his beads around the Uchiha so he could transport him to the said person, but the Susanoo made a slashing motion and the Shinigami jerked away.

''I am dead. Missions are for the living.''

Completely black eyes rolled at this. '' **You are exceptional, Uchiha Itachi. You were chosen _because_ of that.**''

''There it is again. That accursed word.'' Itachi said with a humorless laugh. ''Tell me, oh death god, why am I exceptional?'' The white haired thing looked at him strangely. ''I know you are aware of the fact I have been asking this question my whole life. But I never received a real answer. If you don't mind, I would like to change that. If you can answer my question, I will let you take me wherever it is that you want.''

The Shinigami stared at him for a moment before he released another one of those hollow laughs. Only this one had far more amusement and a slight bit of incredulousness to it. Itachi watched it as the demonic being laughed for what felt like hours before finally calming down. It had an amused tilt to its lips as it regarded the human before it.

'' **I did say you did some incredible things in your life, and I know you are aware of them.** '' The Shinigami began, playing absentmindedly with his beads. '' **And I did say you did something interesting even here, when you are dead. Look. You summoned a full body Susanoo,** '' he said, gesturing to the red armor surrounding Itachi completely. '' **You can use your Sharingan in a place where no one is able to fight. This dimension is where all those powers are taken away so that wherever the soul may end up, the person cannot cause chaos. No one has ever been able to do that, Uchiha Itachi. Not even the God of Shinobi.** ''

''Ah, I see.'' Itachi said with a small smirk and closed his eyes. ''I know who you are taking me to see.''

'' **You do?** '' That startled Death, apparently. '' **I don't believe you.** ''

''You are taking me to see Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Better known as the God of Shinobi or the Sage of Six Paths.''

The Shinigami crossed his arms over his chest. '' **I _could_ be taking you to see Senju Hasirama.**''

''The Shodaime was sealed by the Sandaime and is inside of you. If I were going to have a chat with all four previous Hokage, you would have swallowed me immediately and then just spat me out, if it was not my fate to remain there.'' The Uchiha stated calmly.

'' **Just proves how exceptional you are,** '' the death god muttered but Itachi heard him and frowned. '' **But you are right. He has created a small dimension where he wants me to take you. He did it before death so he can reside there and watch over the world he has created. And he wants to give you a mission he believes only _you_ can fulfill.**''

''You have yet to answer my question.'' Itachi pointed out but let his Susanoo disappear, but not his Mangekyo Sharingan. He was ready to Amaterasu the ghostly being if he so much as dared to think about any funny business.

'' **You were _created_ exceptional, Uchiha Itachi.**'' The Sinigami stated. '' **As for _why_ it is like that, you will have to ask your ancestor.**'' And before the mortal could say anything, the Shinigami whisked them away, through dimensions, deafening Itachi's voice even as he tried to demand the answer to his question.

 _Otsutsuki Hagoromo..._

Itachi stared at the tall and pale-skinned man, who had deep wrinkles and a strong jawline in his elderly age. He had spiky, shoulder-length, pale brown hair, with a chin-length, braided lock hanging in front of his left ear. He had a goatee and was dressed in all white with a few tomoe shaped designs around his neck like a necklace. Very similar to the necklace Itachi was wearing, only his had three while Hagoromo's had six. Hagoromo had a pair of horn-like protrusions extending from either side of his forehead both his eyes were the purple of Rinnegan. In the center of his forehead, he had what appeared to be a Sharingan eye and he carried around a staff with a moon on one end and a sun on the other. The two representations of his ancient clan, from which the Senju, Uchiha and Uzumaki clans hail their origins.

The God of Shinobi was staring at Itachi with kindness but also in a way that made Itachi feel like Hagoromo was checking him for flaws. And by the pleased expression he made when he finally smiled at the raven haired boy, he was pleased to find none.

''Uchiha Itachi, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.''

''I am honored to meet you as well.'' Itachi even threw in a bow of respect, making the old man beam. Why he pleased him so much, Itachi will never understand. ''I understand that you wanted to see me and give me a mission?''

Hagoromo nodded. ''Indeed, a mission only you can carry out.'' He held out a hand and ran it in front of the Uchiha's body, making all the wounds he received in his fight with Sasuke disappear, as well as returning his mortal sight. A tingling in his eyes told Itachi that the healing of wounds wasn't the only thing that had happened and the mirror Hagoromo made for him showed Itachi that his eyes were still the same black ones, but when he activated his Sharingan and then his Mangekyo, the Mangekyo had changed. He touched the skin under his eye as he stared at the three tomoe outside of the lines he had been having before.

''What is this?''

''You now have more chakra and you will have a few new powers. Nothing much, just a better ability to heal yourself. I am sure healing jutsus will come easily with your chakra control.'' The old man said and Itachi turned to look at him.

''What is the point of this?'' He asked. ''I am dead? What sort of mission are you trying to drop on me?''

''A war is starting, Itachi. The reincarnations of my sons will be vital to its end. But one is pushing the other away and is stuck in his clan's Curse of Hatred at the moment. The other is struggling along because of his friends' overprotectiveness.'' Hagoromo stated gravely. ''They have been enemies for three years and counting. They have fought as enemies more than they have as allies. The task before them is grave and they will need all the help they can get. There will be two Uchiha who will stand between them and their task and goal. They will need _you_ to fight those two Uchiha.''

''I am dead.'' Was the flat reply.

''The Rinnegan can change that.'' Hagoromo replied. ''I have contacted Uzumaki Nagato while you were still one of his subordinates.'' Itachi went to protest, but the old man stopped him. ''He has left one of his Paths, in secret, to watch over you. It has gone dormant as soon as you died. It will revive you when I deem the time to be right, as well as any person who you think might be of help. They will be your backup and they will stay alive with you, so chose carefully.''

''Why me?'' Itachi finally asked, not understanding. Why him? There were plenty of other shinobi who could do the job just as good - if not better - as he would have done it.

''Because I chose you.'' The Otsutsuki replied, making the Uchiha frown.

''Why?''

''Because you are exceptional.''

Itachi nearly screamed at that. ''Then why am I so exceptional? What makes me exceptional!? Why me? Why am I exceptional? Why not someone else?''

''Because, Uchiha Itachi, it is I who have made you exceptional.'' Red eyes blinked in surprise at this and Hagoromo sighed. ''I made you exceptional, because I always knew I would need someone's help. My sons ... they need someone like you. So I made you, made you so exceptional so you would surely live to see it, the day they would need you. I forgot how the human world could be so cruel that even the best laid plans fail in some way.''

''I am exceptional ... because you made me so?'' The shell-shocked young man asked and Hagoromo nodded. Itachi didn't know what to say. This was not what he was expecting.

Not what he was expecting at all.

 **OWARI**

 **A/N: Sequel coming up soon! Hope you enjoyed reading tis part and I hope I will see you in the next part, too! Please review!**


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